Swedish bunny-boom

City park rabbits are good to look at. But they are even better for heating your house. That's the view of the Stockholm city authorities, as they battle a plague of rabbits in Swedish parks.

Solutions such as turning them into biofuel or serving them in restaurants have been put forward, neither of which are popular with animal rights activists.

Pest controllers shoot thousands of them every year, but now the bodies are being sent to a power plant, where they are incinerated and turned into biofuel.

Lise-Lott Alsenius, an animal rights activist, says: “I think many people think that rabbits are nice and cute and cuddly, and they don't want them to be fuel. There are other ways to deal with the problem.”

And the problem is that the people of Stockholm don't like them enough to care for them in the first place. Park rabbits are former pets thrown out by bored owners. Without natural predators they multiply uncontrollably and ravage the city's green zones.

And according to energy companies, if culling is unavoidable, their solution is the most efficient.

“Since there are bacteria and funguses [sic] and diseases involved it's better to send the animals to destruction instead of having the risk of bacteria spreading,” Gustav Melin, from the Swedish Bioenergy Association, claims.

In neighboring Finland the rabbit infestation is tackled differently: plants are sprayed with chemicals that make them unappealing to the furry pests.

But the chef at trendy Chez Dominique thinks he has the best proposal. Hans Valmaque says, “The original city rabbit is really good, actually. It's like chicken.”

So one problem – and many solutions. Though none of them too appealing if you are a rabbit yourself.